What it’s about: Lagercrantz continues Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series (“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”) with a sixth Lisbeth Salander adventure. This time, Lisbeth goes missing on the hunt for evil twin sister Camilla, while Mikael Blomkvist needs her help unraveling a twisted plot.

What it’s about: Beekeeper Nuri and his wife, Afra, are devastated by the Syrian civil war. After violence claims their child and Afra’s eyesight, the couple is forced to flee Aleppo and make the fraught journey to Britain — and an uncertain future.

The buzz: A starred review in Kirkus Reviews calls this novel “both touching and terrifying."

What it’s about: The Swedish author and sex educator lays out a straightforward, accessible guide to help young men navigate sex, relationships, consent, gender identity, sexual orientation, sexual health and more in the #MeToo era.

The buzz: “This is a book destined to be passed around,” says a starred review in Kirkus Reviews.

4. “What Red Was,” by Rosie Price (Crown, fiction, on sale Aug. 27)

What it’s about: Platonic college friends Kate and Max navigate the traumatic aftermath of rape after Kate is assaulted. Price’s debut novel is a searing exploration of wealth, power, privilege, consent and the lasting effects of trauma.

The buzz: Publishers Weekly says, “This powerful novel handles its explosive plot with an admirable delicacy and offers an emotional portrait of friendship.”

5. “Doxology,” by Nell Zink (Ecco, fiction, on sale Aug. 27)

What it’s about: Two generations of an American family come of age — one before 9/11, one after — in an ambitious novel that tackles our current political moment.

The buzz: The book encompasses "the most serious themes of the 21st century while remaining comic and earthbound,” according to book critic Mark Athitakis in a review for USA TODAY.